County plan for
Hamakua land protested
by agriculture co-op

The Big Island intends to
lease the land to paper companies,
not farmers

By Rod Thompson
Star-Bulletin

PAAUILO, Hawaii -- Former Hamakua Sugar Co. worker Tony Gomera has a clear idea of what should be done with 4,423 acres of county land on the Hamakua coast.

"I think we need land for planting food, not putting trees," he said.

It's just the opposite for Mayor Stephen Yamashiro: trees over crops. The county has signed a nonbinding letter of intent to lease the land to Oji Paper Co. and Marubeni Corp. of Japan for a eucalyptus plantation for wood chips.

"I'm trying to encourage investment into that area," Yamashiro said.

"We went out and solicited them to come. If you make a commitment, you have to honor that commitment."

Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong sides with Gomera and some 198 other farmers, members of the Hamakua-North Hilo Agricultural Cooperative, most of whom don't have land.

No lease has been signed and no date has been set for council action, but Yagong hopes to convince his fellow council members to reject the deal.

The county is following the state, which plans to lease about 5,000 more acres to Oji and Marubeni.

Yagong notes that the proposed term of the lease to Oji and Marubeni is 55 years. That means Yagong's 5-year-old son won't see the lands available for general public use again until he is 60 years old, Yagong says.

Like Yagong, farmer Elroy Juan worries about land for kids in the future. "How many kids are graduating from school now with no future?" he asks.

A former Hamakua Sugar worker who spent 18 years with the company, Juan now has a lease of five acres of state land, growing papayas, chili peppers, dracaena and other crops.

"The real problems is jobs for kids," he said.

But many former sugar workers -- Yagong says 144 in the co-op -- also have little or no work and no land. Wally Makio, 28 years with the sugar company, is one of them.

"I don't want Oji or any other guy planting trees when we've got to import our own food," he said.

Supporters of Oji and Marubeni say the company will eventually create about 130 jobs.

Paauilo resident Maxie Dias says she is already operating a company that provides jobs for 28 people preparing a eucalyptus plantation for Hamakua Timber Co. on Bishop Estate lands.

But Juan says far more workers are required for farming, where work must be done regularly, than in agroforestry, where workers are needed primarily for planting and harvesting.

A major source of unused land in the area is Bishop Estate. But farmers scoff at the idea of dealing with Bishop.

Farmer Bob Shioji said the co-op tried to get land from Bishop. "They just plain ignored us, and that's to put it mildly," he said. "It's like pulling teeth."

Bishop spokesman Kekoa Paulsen said the estate has a number of proposals on file. "It has taken time for us to get a good understanding of the land," he said.

Farmer Gomera said, "With Bishop, you've got to show what you have in your wallet first." Paulsen said lease rates in the area are "somewhat lower" than elsewhere.

Shioji may offer offer a way out of the impasse. Instead of leasing all 4,423 acres to the farmers, he proposed making 1,040 acres available while leasing the remainder to Oji.

Oji has said it needs 25,000 acres in total, meaning whether it gets all or part of the county land, it will still have to go to other owners for the rest.

An Oji spokesman could not be reached for comment.